More hit by silver Merc gang

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Screen grab of robbers blocking a car as the family arrives at their home in Malberton.
120514. Picture: Frame Grab

Johannesburg - The gang that Joburg’s southern suburbs residents have dubbed the “silver Mercedes gang” may have been operating in areas further afield.

On Tuesday, The Star revealed that the four-man gang, who have been given their nickname because of the C-class Mercedes-Benz they use in some of the incidents, have been targeting Joburg’s Glenvista, Mulbarton and Brackendowns communities.

The men wait for people to exit their homes, usually at sunset, parking them in their driveways before holding them up with guns and forcing them back into their homes, where they rob them of their valuables.

One man, who did not want to be identified, said on Tuesday that Alveda Park and Kibler Park were targeted between February and March. He said that in the incidents in the area, a black BMW was used.

Morgan Pillay said his family were robbed in Gillview last Monday and the men had also used the silver Mercedes. He said the robbery took 10 minutes and they were able to see through a neighbour’s CCTV footage that a Hyundai bakkie and a black Toyota Corolla were also involved.

On the same day, Conrad Enoch said the same gang, using the same Mercedes, hijacked him in Dinwiddie, Germiston.

“It was horrific. They hit me in the chest with a gun,” he said. They stole his wallet, watch, wedding ring and house keys.

Enoch said his car was recovered later that day in Mulbarton.

Joselyn Moodley said she and her children were held up by the gang in Brackendowns last Tuesday.

She was pulling out of her driveway to go to a function for the children when she saw the gang drive past. They saw her, made a U-turn and came back to block her in the driveway.

“They took their time with us and were fearless. They don’t cover their faces at all. I thought I recognised the one man and still smiled at him as he approached me.

“He cocked a gun in my face and told me he would kill everyone. From that moment on I was completely calm for the sake of the children,” Moodley said. She said the family were put in the kitchen while the men ransacked the house.

Moodley described one man as fat. She said he wanted all her jewellery. She said she started to pray and that upset one of the men.

He pulled her hair and then encouraged the other men to leave.

“I have a feeling he is a family man,” Moodley said.

She said the men took a lot of personal items, including a documentary she had made of her life overcoming cancer that she had made for another cancer patient.

CCTV footage on the street caught the men at work. Moodley said it shows them trying to load a large TV into their boot.

It didn’t fit, so they put it on the pavement before going into the house again.